The number one problem I see while working with Procrastinators is difficulty initiating work. That doesn’t surprise me because it takes a lot to initiate something. It takes willpower, creativity, timing, preparedness, and ignoring all other distractions. All at the same time. We can go days without initiating our work even though we know it’s long overdue and we’re in jeopardy. Those days spent in pre-preparation are not happy ones. We feel stuck, pressured, inactive.
Here are a few questions I’d like you to ask yourself when you’re having difficulty getting started:
- What’s holding me back? Is it a thought? Something I don’t know yet, like a phone number or piece of data? Is it fatigue? Is it isolation? Is the absence of a looming deadline?
- What am I feeling now? Dread? Worry? Apathy?
- What attitude do I have about my work? Do I feel I have to be perfect in it? Do I feel everyone has to love it when I send it out?
- What attitude do I have about myself? Am I beating myself up? Do I feel I’m not allowed to explore my potential?
These are the kinds of questions I have my clients answer in psychotherapy or coaching. We end up learning what the entry point for making change happen might be. We find:
- it takes a phone call
- it takes a commitment to me
- it takes putting aside the to do list until the first five-minute part of the list is done
- it takes meeting with an advisor
- it takes pretending there is no risk involved
- it takes realizing there is almost no risk involved
- it takes realizing the immense cost of Procrastinating outweighs the stress of beginning
Once this analysis is done, clients get to pick their vehicle for getting going. I’m writing this post on my cellphone because it has been hard for me to sit still and to focus lately. It doesn’t make my post any better, but it is getting it done! I find once I get the engine started, driving to my goal is a whole lot easier. Hope you have a good trip today.
